Northern Colorado job market expected to be among nation’s strongest

Northern Colorado area employers expect to hire at a bullish pace during the fourth quarter of 2006, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

Among survey participants, the Northern Colorado employment outlook is the second best in the nation.

From October to December, 66 percent of the companies interviewed plan to hire more employees, while 7 percent expect to reduce their payrolls, according to Manpower spokesperson Kathy Olson. Another 24 percent expect to maintain their current staff levels and 3 percent are not certain of their hiring plans.

“Northern Colorado area employers have considerably stronger hiring intentions than in the third quarter when 37 percent of the companies interviewed intended to add staff, and 3 percent planned to reduce headcount,” Olson said. “Employers also have much more positive hiring intentions than they did a year ago when 37 percent of companies surveyed thought employment increases were likely and 7 percent intended to cut back.”

For the coming quarter, job prospects appear best in construction, wholesale/retail trade, finance/insurance/real estate, services and public administration. Employers in durable and non-durable goods manufacturing voice mixed hiring intentions, while hiring in transportation/public utilities and education is expected to remain unchanged.

U.S. employers expect to close out 2006 the same way it began ” with strong, steady hiring plans, according to the seasonally adjusted results of the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

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Of the 14,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 28 percent expect to add to their payrolls during the fourth quarter of 2006, while 8 percent expect to reduce staff levels. Fifty-eight percent expect no change in the hiring pace, while 6 percent are undecided about their hiring plans for September-December.

The Manpower Employment Outlook Survey is conducted quarterly to measure employers’ intentions to increase or decrease the number of employees in their workforce during the next quarter. It is the only forward-looking survey of its kind, unparalleled in size, scope, longevity and area of focus.